


fit for a king

by tellemnaegi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Birthday Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 21:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellemnaegi/pseuds/tellemnaegi
Summary: Atticus throws a joint birthday party. The "joint" part is a surprise.





	fit for a king

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick little thing with no real plot, because I've been having a lot of GX feelings lately, and I love these boys.

“Attention all!” Atticus stands, tapping a plastic fork against his beer as loudly and with as much force as he can. “It’s time for a toast!”

Atticus speaks boldly and with gusto, as if he’s addressing a group of fifty people in a wedding hall instead of the same seven people he hangs out with every day in a dimly lit and mostly unused dorm. The guests in the room pause their conversations to look up at him.

“Great, now that I have your attention - as you may know, tonight’s party is to celebrate my birthday, since I spent the last one being... not quite myself, and deprived you all of an opportunity to honor me with drinking and karaoke. However, I am happy to announce that this is not the only occasion I’ve invited you all here,” he pauses, doing some calculations in his head, “...seven months later, to mark. In fact, we have another birthday boy tonight, and he’s right here in this very room.” Atticus gestures toward the back corner of the room, where Zane sits on an old wooden desk chair, arms folded across his chest, one leg folded over the other, looking, as usual, above it all. He doesn’t even have a drink. 

“No.” Zane says. 

“Oh, but yes there is, Zane! It has come to my attention that, while I was gone, not only did you all fail to properly observe the occasion of my birth, but  _ also _ no one threw any sort of extravaganza for the birth of my very best friend, Mr. Zane Truesdale himself. Now, forgetting about me I’ll let slide, because I understand you were all too busy mourning and hand-wringing to do anything, and it’s sort of my fault anyway. But to then fail to celebrate Zane, who was born the very next day? That’s a sin that needs to be rectified. I understand that he threatened to ‘decimate’ whoever tried to throw him a party, but that’s no excuse. Clearly, none of you are brave enough, or care enough about karaoke. So,” Atticus reaches into the back pocket of his school uniform with one hand and pulls out a crinkled piece of what looks like tissue paper. “with that in mind, I’d like us all raise our glasses to the second birthday boy - to Zane!” 

“To Zane!” the group announces, at varying levels of enthusiasm. Jaden sloshes practically all of the fruit punch out of his cup in his excitement, while Alexis just smiles and nudges Zane’s foot with her own as she takes a sip from her glass of wine. Chazz rolls his eyes, but as soon as he notices Alexis taking the moment seriously, he loudly joins in with the rest of them, almost falling off his spot on the bed in his rush. 

“And what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t get you a gift?” Atticus says, his ever-present grin growing wider as he moves towards Zane. It’s a testament to their friendship that Zane doesn’t even try to escape. He just sighs. 

Atticus unfolds the piece of paper in his hands to reveal a flimsy, light blue crown, with sequins glued on haphazardly, reminiscent of the way a child might draw Zane’s cyber dragons. It matches the purple one currently pinning the brunette’s bangs to his forehead. 

“Let’s give the king a crown.” Zane shakes his head ever so slightly, making Atticus’ task difficult, but eventually acquiesces and allows his best friend to place the crown on his head. 

“Thanks,” Zane says, sarcasm weighing heavily on his voice. 

“No problem!”

“All hail the kings of Duel Academy!” Jaden yells from the floor, hands cupped around his mouth, eyes bright. 

“Now that’s what I like to hear.” Atticus winks. 

Alexis stands up from her seat and steps in front of Zane and Atticus, pulling out a digital camera. 

“Okay, birthday boys - time for a picture.”

Atticus steps behind Zane’s chair and adjusts his crown so that it’s tilted ever so slightly to one side. He sticks his tongue out and throws up a peace sign.

Alexis spends a few seconds positioning herself, tilting the camera so she can fit her excessively tall brother and Zane’s seated form in the same shot. She takes one and then frowns. “Stop sulking for like three seconds, Zane, so I can get a good one. It’s your birthday, can’t you at least pretend like you’re having fun?”

“It’s May,” Zane responds. His arms remain crossed.

“Yeah, and it’s your birthday. It’s also mine. I’m reinventing how birthdays work, because I’m an innovative genius.” Atticus leans down so that only Zane can hear his next words. “Come on, Zane. Graduation is in like two weeks. Let Lexi take one picture, for the good of the school. Future generations of duelists should know just how handsome Duel Academy’s two greatest students really were.” 

“Then why,” Zane replies, his tone ominously light, “should you be in the picture?”

Alexis takes advantage of her brother’s momentary shock to snap the second photo, before Atticus launches into a defensive tirade and tears the paper crown from Zane’s head.  

She has more pictures from that party - Jay drinking from a cup containing equal parts fruit punch, hot sauce, and chocolate, while Syrus frets in the background; Bastion’s head thrown back in laughter as Chazz tips back too far in the desk chair, arms flailing; even a blurry one Jay had taken of Atticus braiding Alexis’ hair with his eyes closed. She loves all of them, but when she looks back on the album years later, her own graduation imminent, this is the one that makes her pause, her heart falling slightly in her chest at the sight: Zane’s barely visible smirk, her brother’s mouth hanging open in mock offense, both of them donning their shoddily made paper crowns, and looking, for just a moment, like the world belonged only to them. 

**Author's Note:**

> housemates and i are finishing up gx, and that s4 episode where asuka is looking at old pics made me feel a lot of things about The Gang (tm) having a party. i've also been feeling a lot of things about ryo & fubuki having sequential birthdays, so i decided to combine them, and this happened. 
> 
> dub names bc i alternate in my head and this is what i was feeling when i wrote this like....six hours ago
> 
> let me know if you like this! there'll probs be more gx fic in the future, bc i am in absolute hell and love these two a whole damn lot


End file.
